A LESBIAN who posed as a man to trick her best friend into having sex has been found guilty of three counts of sexual assault.

Gayle Newland, 25, befriended her victim by posing as a man named Kye Fortune, a half-Filipino, half-Latino fellow student who was recovering from a brain tumour and did not want her to see his scars.

Newland bound her chest and wore a wooly hat and swimsuit to disguise her appearance and the victim was made to wear a blindfold whenever she was with 'Kye' , whom she dated for two years, including on the ten occasions the pair had sex.

But the victim was horrified to discover she was actually going to bed with Newland, who used bandages to flatten out her breasts, when she ripped off her blindfold during one meeting at her flat in Chester, Cheshire and saw 'Kye' wearing a prosthetic penis.

Newland, who has identified as a lesbian since primary school, claimed her accuser, also aged 25, always knew she was pretending to be a man as they engaged in role play while struggling with their sexuality, Chester Crown Court heard.

But today a jury of eight women and four men convicted the defendant, from Willaston, Cheshire, of three counts of sexual assault.

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You have now been convicted of serious charges. The consequences maybe serious, I have to tell you that

Judge Roger Dutton

She was cleared of two other counts of sexual assault said to have taken place at hotels in the city.

The defendant sat open-mouthed in stunned silence as the foreman returned the verdicts.

Judge Roger Dutton told her: "You have now been convicted of serious charges. The consequences maybe serious, I have to tell you that."

To which Newland shouted: "How can you send me down for something I haven't done."

The judge allowed the defendant's father to approach the dock to help to console her, where she repeated: "I don't understand, I don't understand."

During the trial, Newland admitted she had invented 'Kye' when she was 13 as a way to speak to girls. She later created 'his' Facebook profile, using photos taken from an American man's social media page.

But she told a jury that she never disguised her appearance when they met as "boyfriend and girlfriend" and the complainant never wore a mask during sex.

She said: "She knew from the get-go that Kye was a girl. My main reason why I spoke as Kye was for her.

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Newland sat open-mouthed as she was convicted

"I knew better than anyone for people not to know...if she wanted to hide her sexuality I would allow her to do that."

The court also heard how the victim had agreed to follow 'rules' which included not touching Kye's 'penis'.

The prosecution said it was an "unusual" case set against an "extraordinary background" in which the defendant targeted the "naive and vulnerable" complainant.

But Newland's legal team argued the complainant's account was simply "impossible to believe".

The pair went on to communicate largely by phone but Newland denied lowering her voice when the complainant would ring 'Kye'.

The complainant told the court how she had repeatedly asked if they could meet up, only to be rebuffed by a series of excuses.

She recounted how Kye explained that he was in hospital after being involved in a car crash, and that during their examinations medics had discovered he had a brain tumour.

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The case was heard at Chester Crown Court

But giving evidence, Newland insisted that it was her accuser's idea to create the elaborate back story because she did not want to reveal that she was dating a girl to her family and friends.

Newland also said that the complainant had persuaded her to buy a prosthetic penis online.

She said: "It sounds silly but she told me to and I did."

The defendant said that the pair kissed and cuddled during their encounters but did not have penetrative sex with the prosthetic, as the claimant alleged.

Adjourning the case for pre-sentence reports Judge Dutton told the court that Newland had "serious issues surrounding her personality".

Newland was bailed until sentencing on a date to be fixed in November. She was ordered not to contact the complainant and not to contact anyone under an assumed identity.

The judge said Newland would be seen by the Probation Service and psychiatrist as part of the pre-sentence report.

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